


Star Wars: Holocron Rising

by MedusaOfArc



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29126166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MedusaOfArc/pseuds/MedusaOfArc
Summary: It wasn't just Luke's lightsaber in Maz's Bar. The Rule of Two survives in the deep future. Voices of the past will no longer stay silent. Two Holocrons of venerated masters will either drag the galaxy into a dark age of conflict, or catapult it into a shining age of enlightenment.Maybe.
Relationships: Phasma/Rose Tico, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Kudos: 2





	Star Wars: Holocron Rising

FN-2003 left their bloody handprint on FN-2187 as their life left their body. FN-2187 started crying, the legion-mate he had helped and shown mercy to so often was now beyond his help. Standing back up, nausea threatening to overwhelm him, the other stormtroopers and villagers running about in chaos and the sounds of explosions shot bouts of dizziness through him. Stumbling, FN-2187 did his best to avoid stray blaster bolts and tried to look as though he were doing something important. All FN-2187 wanted to do was run. Run away from the chaos. Run away from the first order, the resistance, run away from the Galaxy all together. 

Poe Dameron took note of the Stormtrooper that stumbled around and was about to take the shot to take out another oppressor of the First Order when all the blaster fire suddenly stopped. Lor San Tekka was unceremoniously dragged from his cozy hut, the old man's limp not helping as the stormtroopers pulled at his arms. The leader of the Knights of Ren strode up to Tekka, who stood up straighter once the Stormtroopers released him. Poe was struck by just how tall Kylo Ren was. And while he knew that the helm Kylo wore was just for appearances sake, he was nonetheless slightly intimidated by it. From behind his hill, a small distance away, Poe could only hear that Kylo was speaking and that his voice was modulated slightly by the mask. Tekka replied though Poe could only catch snippets of words. Suddenly, Kylo Ren ignited his crackling red lightsaber and struck down Lor San Tekka. Enraged, Poe kept out from behind his cover, a howl filled with grief tore from his lips and he shot a blaster bolt straight at Kylo Ren's black clad head. 

FN-2187 heard the sound of another blaster, breaking the silence that had reigned since the firefight stopped, and whirled to see where it came from. A bright blue bolt of energy was floating in mid-air, seemingly held in place. Kylo's hand was raised towards it, and beyond the bolt, also held in place, was a resistance member. Two other stormtroopers grabbed him and dragged him and made him kneel in front of Kylo. Kylo crouched down to look the resistance member in the eye, though FN-2187 was certain that the resistance member couldn't see Ren's eyes. As far as he knew, no one aside from Supreme Leader Snoke, Captain Phasma, and General Hux had seen Kylo Ren without his helmet. Maybe the other Knights of Ren.  
"So who talks first? I talk first, you talk first?" The resistance member said after an uncomfortable pause. If FN-2187 didn't feel like he was going to throw up at any moment, he would have laughed. Though laughing at something like that would more than likely get him demoted by Phasma, if not killed by Ren.  
"Your man gave it to you…" Ren's modulated voice rumbled out. "Bring him on board." He commanded. Phasma stepped up to Kylo.  
"Sir, the villagers."  
"Kill them all." Ren replied to her. She nodded and had FN-2187 and the rest of the troopers surround the remaining villagers. Women, children, people who fought back, all of different species. FN-2187 knew that he should resent them for impeding the First Order. Captain Phasma had conditioned all in her training regimens to be loyal to the First Order above all else. But FN-2187 found he couldn't hate these people. They were living here peacefully until the First Order attacked them. As Captain Phasma gave the order to fire upon the defenceless villagers, FN-2187 found he couldn't shoot them. He couldn't do that to these people whose only crime was to be in the way of the First Order. He lowered his blaster and head in shame. After the blaster fire stopped, he felt someone watching him. He snapped his head around only to find the expressionless mask of Kylo Ren staring at him. FN-2187 stared back. The moment passed and Kylo Ren carried on to his ship, the prisoner ahead of him. FN-2187 heard the impact of a blaster shot and turned to see the fading sparks of what had been the halted bolt of energy. 

Back on the Star Destroyer Finalizer, FN-2187 ripped off his helmet once the rest of his troop had left the lander that had ferried them to Jakku. He immediately emptied his stomach into the corner of the lander, breathing heavily, sweat drenching his face. He was not ready for the modulated voice of Captain Phasma behind him.  
"FN-2187, who gave you permission to remove your helmet?" FN-2187 straightened immediately and did not look back.  
"No one. Sorry Captain." Was all he could get out.  
"You will submit your blaster for inspection and you will submit yourself for reconditioning. Report to my division at once." She intoned in a voice that was used to giving orders.  
"Yes Captain." Was his reply.  
"And put your helmet back on." Was her last word before she turned and walked away. FN-2187 did so. But he did so a changed man. 

"Ren wants the prisoner." Four small words just let FN-2187 just walk out with the Resistance Member from the interrogation chamber with no one the wiser. He had to admire the prisoner. Even after being bloodied by the interrogation machine and worked over by Ren, the prisoner still walked upright and proud, ready for whatever came next.  
"Turn here." FN-2187 had to nudge the prisoner into a small cubby, designed for cleaning supplies, not for two fully grown men. Breathless from adrenaline, FN-2187 spoke directly to the resistance member.  
"Listen carefully, if you do exactly as I say, I can get you out of here.”

FN-2187 said this very quickly and it took a moment for Poe to realise what he'd said.  
"What?" Poe asked confusedly, recoiling slightly. The stormtrooper removed his helmet, and Poe saw for the first time, a live face of one of the First Order. He had dark skin and a close cropped haircut, he was sweating, almost shaking with nervousness. But to Poe, this stormtrooper, this man, suddenly represented hope instead of fear. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.  
"This is a rescue," the man said. "I'm helping you escape. Can you fly a TIE Fighter?"  
"You with the Resistance?" Poe asked, shocked that one of the members of the resistance would be a stormtrooper spy.  
"What?" The former stormtrooper was confused how the actual Resistance member would think that. "No no no, I'm breaking you out. Can you fly a TIE Fighter?" He asked again, exasperated, and worried about someone noticing what was going on.  
"I can fly anything." Poe declared, offended that someone would question his piloting skills. The stormtrooper's face broke out in a wide smile of exhilaration when he said that.  
"Why though?" Poe asked, fighting to be serious for a moment. "Why are you helping me?"  
Poe and the stormtrooper looked into each other's eyes, and at that moment, their fates were sealed.  
"Because it's the right thing to do." The man replied. At that moment, Poe knew that he could trust this man with his life. This was a person who was going against all the conditioning the first order put in his head. This beautiful, brave man was risking all he knew to help him. Poe grinned.  
"You need a pilot." He said.  
"I need a pilot." FN-2187 replied to the man who represented freedom from the First Order. 

The two men made their way to a TIE Fighter bay, ships lined up vertically down each side of the cavernous area, a glimpse of space and stars was all FN-2187 would allow himself as he tried to keep himself calm and sneak his pilot past all of the patrols and personnel of the bay.  
"Alright, this way." FN-2187 nudged the pilot towards the last row of TIE Fighters on the left. The two took off at a jog and easily reached the top most TIE Fighter, the least likeliest where they'd be seen. The two clambered into the ship. Poe quickly shed his brown jacket, wincing as he did so. He looked around and began to toggle the necessary switches to take off. FN-2187 sat in the gunner position, removing his stormtrooper helmet for the last time and looking around, slightly overwhelmed.  
"I always wanted to fly one of these things. Can you shoot?" The pilot asked.  
"Blasters I can." FN-2187 replied.  
"Okay, same principal. Use the toggle on the left to switch between missiles, cannons, and mag pulse, use the sight on the right to aim, triggers to fire." The pilot replied confidently,  
"This is very complicated." FN-2187 stated.  
Poe started the engines and the TIE Fighter lifted off, ready to shoot into the expanse of space, but stopped suddenly, the fuel line still connected and secured, whipping both FN-2187 and Poe inside the craft.  
"I can fix that!" Poe shouted as the sounds of blaster fire started to erupt all around them, targeting their fighter. FN-2187 figured there wouldn't be a better time to test out how the guns worked on the fighter so he pulled the trigger. Green bolts leapt out, destroying several stormtroopers setting up a cannon. FN-2187 kept firing, managing to blow up a majority of the bay, multiple TIE Fighters, and even the command station for the bay. Finn, having caused havoc and gotten used to the blasters, grinned when the pilot finally said, "Got it!" FN-2187 heard a snapping sound and suddenly the TIE Fighter rocketed into the empty expanse of space.  
"Whoa, this thing really moves!" Poe exclaimed. "Alright, we gotta take out as many cannons as we can, otherwise we're not going to get very far. I'm gonna line you up as straight a shot as I can, okay?"  
"Got it!" The former stormtrooper declared. The TIE Fighter arced around to the underbelly of the Star Destroyer, the durasteel grey glinting in the reflected light of Jakku below as Poe zipped between blaster bolts from the ships guns.  
"Got two canons coming up, straight ahead, you seem 'em?" Poe yelled, the excitement of flight getting to him.  
"I see them!" FN-2187 yelled back. He pulled the trigger, targeting the two canons easily and blowing them to pieces, the TIE Fighter zooming through the resulting explosions. Both men let out whoops of joy. "DID YOU SEE THAT! DID YOU SEE THAT?" FN-2187 shouted in exuberance.  
"I saw it!" Poe shouted back, proud of his new friend. Poe quickly realized he didn't know the name of his fastest friend. "Hey, what's your name?"  
"FN-2187." He replied.  
"F-N… what?"  
"It's the only name they ever gave me." FN-2187 answered.  
"Well I ain't using it. F-N huh? I'll call you Finn, is that alright?" Poe asked, proud of himself for coming up with a name in the heat of a dogfight.  
"Finn? Yeah, Finn, I like that!" Finn excitedly replied. A name! All his own!  
"I'm Poe, Poe Dameron!"  
"Good to meet you, Poe!"  
"Good to meet you too, Finn!" Poe said, smiling. "Alright watch out, we got seekers coming for us, you see 'em?" All back to business now.  
"I see them!" Finn replied after a moment, seeing the arcing blue warheads heading towards them, following their trajectory. Finn opened fire, destroying the ones closest to them quickly as Poe did his best to dodge the others coming towards them. Once they were all taken care of, Poe sent the TIE Fighter in a sharp u-turn towards Jakku.  
"Wait, where are we going?" Finn asked.  
"Back to Jakku." Poe replied, his mission still fresh in his mind.  
"We can't go back to Jakku, we gotta get out of this system!" Poe argued.  
"I gotta get my droid before the First Order does! He's a BB unit, orange and white, one of a kind!" Poe retorted, not deviating from his course.  
"I don't care what he looks like, no droid can be that important!" Finn yelled, a proximity alert going unnoticed by both of them.  
"This one is, pal! He's got a map that leads straight to Luke Skywalker!"  
"Oh you gotta be kidding-" whatever Finn was about to say was cut off as a Ventral Cannon shot hit their TIE Fighter and sent them into an uncontrolled spin toward the ravaged planet below. 

-

"Poe! POE!"  
Finn, holding Poe Dameron's jacket screamed for his first friend in vain as the downed TIE Fighter quickly sank into the sand. Finn stepped away reluctantly, not wanting to so utterly abandon Poe but also not wanting to get swallowed by the sand. Underneath the sand, the TIE Fighter exploded under the pressure, sending sand and rocks flying. Finn stood there, grief evident, defeated. 

Several hot hours later found Finn having shed his stormtrooper armor and using Poe's jacket as a sun shade as he trudged over sand dune after sand dune. Finally, as the sun was at its highest, Finn reached the outlook above Niima Outpost. 

-

"Water, please, water." Finn asked, going from merchant to merchant, all saying no. He suddenly heard the sound of sloshing water behind him and he ran to it. A large hippo-like animal with enormous nostrils was drinking from the filthy water. Finn gagged at the idea of drinking it, but was so thirsty he lowered his pride as he knelt down and started drinking as much as he could, making a disgusted face as he did. The Happabore shoved Finn out of the way and he was about to fight for his spot back when he heard a high pitched yell.  
"Let him go!" Was then followed by a loud THWACK. Finn ran over, intending to help whomever was being attacked. What he saw was a scavenger woman, with brown hair braided back in an unusual style and white wrap clothing suited to the desert, thoroughly handing two thugs their asses. He looked around to see if anyone else had seen what he just did. Most just turned away from the fight, not wanting to get involved. Finn looked back to see the scavenger uncovering a white and orange BB droid that had been covered in a sack. Finn couldn't believe it. Poe's droid was right there. It looked around, seemingly relieved to be out of the sack when it suddenly made a high pitch squeal when it saw him. Finn looked at the droid in confusion. The scavenger said "Him?" And after a confirmation beep, Finn was suddenly running from a very angry looking person who had just beaten up two thugs and was now looking like they wanted a piece of him. Finn dodged in and out of tents and he thought he'd lost her when suddenly a blur came from below and knocked him on his ass. The scavenger had found him and pointed her staff at him menacingly.  
"What's your hurry, thief?" The scavenger asked, her brown eyes looking at him accusingly. The BB droid then rolled up and shocked Finn with its telescopic arm.  
"Ow! What was that for?" Finn shouted.  
"BB-8 says that jacket belongs to his master and you stole it." The scavenger replied. Finn looked down for a moment, sadly connecting all the dots.  
"Your master's name was Poe, right? Poe Dameron?" Finn asked the droid, calmer now. The scavenger and BB-8 both reacted to his information. "He was captured by the First Order, I helped him escape, but our ship crash landed. Poe didn't make it." Finn said this with a great deal of regret in his voice. BB-8 lowered his head and rolled away dejectedly. The scavenger reconsidered Finn, and helped him up.  
"So you're with the Resistance?" She asked eagerly. Finn took a moment to reply, considering what to say. He could see himself claiming he was with the Resistance to get in good with the scavenger, but he felt that would be petty. Not worth the lie. He shook his head.  
"No. I'm not. I just want to get away from the First Order. But I want to honor Poe, and finish his mission. But after that, I'm leaving for the Outer Rim. As far as I can go."  
The scavenger nodded and put her staff over her shoulder and stuck out her hand.  
"I'm Rey." She said, smiling politely.  
"My name is Finn." Finn replied, shaking her hand, happy to claim his name once more but sad because it made him think of Poe. Suddenly, BB-8 gave out an alarmed beep. Rey and Finn looked around the corner of the tent to see what had alarmed the droid and saw two stormtroopers talking to the two thugs that had attacked Rey and BB-8. Rey and Finn looked at each other, then looked back. The thugs were pointing at them, and the stormtroopers turned to see them. Their blasters raised quickly and Finn grabbed Rey's hand, tugging her away as blaster bolts tore through the tents around them as they ran.  
"Let go of my hand!" Rey shouted as they ran, yanking her hand out of Finn's as BB-8 raced behind them. "Why are they shooting at me?" Rey inquired loudly as they raced past scrambling merchants and stalls.  
"They saw you with me, you're marked now!" Finn yelled back.  
"Oh great. This way!" Rey called at Finn and took a sharp left, heading to the space port. Finn quickly followed her, spurred on by hearing the words "Air strike" come from one of the stormtroopers. They reached open ground just as the tent behind them exploded from a shot from a TIE Fighter, engines screaming as it went past. Rey, BB-8 and Finn were thrown to the ground. Rey was the first one up. Ears ringing she looked around for BB-8 and Finn. BB-8 was fine, if looking antsy, and Finn appeared unconscious on the ground. Rey rushed over to him.  
"Finn! Wake up!" Rey shouted as she shook him. Finn's eyes snapped open and looked directly into hers as he sat up.  
"Are you okay?" Finn asked sincerely. Rey was surprised. No one had ever asked her that before that she could remember. But she also wasn’t the one that was just unconscious.  
"Yeah." She answered back sincerely. She stuck out her hand to help Finn up. "Now let's go!"  
The trio raced across the open ground, TIE Fighters screaming above them, chaos everywhere, explosions around them.  
"Come on!" Yelled Rey. "We can make it in that Quadjumper!" She pointed to a red ship with four large engines.  
"We need a pilot!" Finn yelled, concerned.  
"We've got one!" Rey said, gesturing to herself.  
"What about that one?" Finn shouted over another blast from a TIE Fighter, as he pointed to a nearer ship with a tarp on it.  
"That one's garbage!" Rey replied. She stopped short when the Quadjumper erupted in a ball of flames as a TIE Fighter zipped past, blasters making easy work of it. She turned back to Finn who looked shocked. “The garbage’ll do.” The three bolted to the Millenium Falcon, dusty and weathered after years of disuse. They made their way up into the belly of the ship. “Gunner position is down there!” Rey pointed to a ladder that led down. Finn nodded and immediately clambered down into the gunner bubble. Putting on the headset he found, he heard it crackle and he heard heavy breathing on the channel.  
“Have you flown this thing before?” Finn asked worriedly.  
“No,” He heard through the headset. “This ship hasn’t flown in years.”  
“Great.” He replied sarcastically. Finn swivelled the Falcon’s gun and was roughly jostled when his chair lined up with the direction of the gun. “Okay. I can do this. I can do this.”  
Rey was in the cockpit, hurriedly flicking switches to get the engine running. “I can do this, I can do this.” She chanted to herself. The engine roared to life, ready to fly after spending so long grounded. She cursed as she tried to find the correct steering mechanism, clumsily grinding the ship along the ground in the space port, even destroying the sign that denoted Niima Outpost before she could get it into the air.  
“Stay low! Stay low!” Finn yelled over the headset. “It confuses their tracking!” Rey was about to ask what he meant by that, then she heard the scream of a TIE Fighter behind them. Without any further words, she rocketed in a nose dive from the dizzying heights they were already at. Two TIE Fighters followed them, green blaster shots coming close to the Millenium Falcon. They managed to score a hit on the right side of the afterburner, jarring Rey and Finn and slamming BB-8 against a wall.  
“What’re you doing down there? Are you ever going to shoot back? Rey exclaimed over the headset.  
“I’m working on it!” Finn replied, being rocked all around as he tried to control the gun. “Are the shields up?”  
“Not so easy without a co-pilot!” Rey said as she stretched to turn on the shields on the other side of the cockpit.  
“Try sitting in this thing.” Finn said under his breath. He managed to keep still for a moment as a TIE Fighter lined up on his target screen. Finn slammed down on the trigger and red bolts shot past the Fighter, one grazing a wing. “I think I’m getting the hang of this!” He said, continuing to fire at the TIE Fighters. “Rey, we need cover!” Finn was having trouble keeping the two fighters off of them with just himself as a gunner.  
“We’re about to get some!” She replied. “I hope.” She muttered to herself. Rey slammed the Falcon around the corner of a canyon and led the TIE Fighters on a nerve wracking chase to the nearest wreck of a stripped Star Destroyer, her ship acrobatics and Finn’s gunnery managing to destroy one of their pursuers when it slammed against a natural column of rock. The remaining TIE Fighter remained close behind when the wreck of the Star Destroyer came into view. Finn was shooting relatively well but he couldn’t shake the Fighter before it managed to shoot out the Falcon’s gun.  
“The gun’s disabled! It’s stuck in the forward position, I can’t do anything!” Finn hollered.  
“Just hold on! Stay ready!” Rey hollered back.  
“Are we really doing this?” Finn exclaimed when he saw the weathered durasteel of the star destroyer go past him. Rey couldn’t find the time to answer as she was doing her very best to avoid the pillars and small spaces of the star destroyer. The Falcon zipped through the Destroyer, scraping occasionally against the sides of the ship, the TIE Fighter close behind and still firing on them. The Falcon suddenly lurched to the right, directly out of the Destroyer and over a cliff.  
Rey yelled, “Get ready!” as she killed the engines, and the falcon went into freefall, flipping upside down, Finn now facing the sky and the newly emerged TIE Fighter. The targeting system lined up perfectly and he fired, destroying the Fighter with a well placed shot through its center. Hearing the explosion and Finn’s whoop of joy, Rey slammed the engines back on, just in time to flip upright once more and barely clear the canyon floor, before arcing nearly vertically into the sky and into space above Jakku. 

Rey set the ship to auto pilot and unbuckled her seat and rushed to the corridor where she met Finn in a crushing hug full of feelings of victory and excitement. They both let go quickly and started rapidly speaking to each other.  
“Great shooting!” She said, eyes wide with adrenaline and smiling.  
“Now that was some flying!” Finn replied, smiling wide as well.  
“Thanks!”  
“How did you do that?”  
I- I don’t know! I’ve flown some ships before but I’ve never left the planet!  
“No one trained you? No one? That was amazing!”  
“Your last shot was dead on!”  
“You set me up for it!”  
“You got him with one blast! Rey laughed, exhilarated. It was perfect!  
Finn shrugged in faux modesty. “That was pretty good.” They both stared at each other after a beat of silence, twin smiles fading as they both realised what they’re feeling; joy and camaraderie, something they both were inexperienced with until this moment. The moment was interrupted when they both heard a bang and a hiss and saw a cloud of steam rapidly shoot out from a spot under the floor in the lounge of the Falcon.  
“What was that?” Finn exclaimed, running with Rey and BB-8 to see what happened.  
“Help me with this!” Rey said, pulling on the grate. Finn leaned down, pulling the grate to the side. Rey leapt down as soon as it was clear. “It’s the motivator!” She said from below floor level. “Pass me a Harris wrench!” Finn nodded and started to rifle through the scattered tools until he found the right item, tossing it to Rey.  
“How bad is it?” Finn asked with concern.  
“If we want to live, not good!” She replied. They spend a tense few minutes high speed DIY ship fixing, jamming in conversation when they can.  
“We’re on the First Order’s radar now, we’re going to have to get out of here soon.” Finn said tensely, passing a different wrench to Rey.  
“Well, BB-8 said the Resistance base location is need-to-know only, so if I’m going to be flying you there, I need to know.” Rey replied, her head popping above the floor again. “Pass me the wrench there.” Finn nodded and passed her the wrench.  
“BB-8,” Finn began, turning to the droid who turned to look at him. “If we’re going to finish Poe’s mission, we need to know where to take you. I know we’re not resistance, but I’ll drop you off there first before I head to the outer rim and you won’t hear from me again.” BB-8 looked down at the ground, rocking back and forth slightly in an ‘I don’t know about this’ movement. BB-8 then beeped quietly. “I don’t speak that. Come on, can you tell Rey?” Rey at that moment popped up from where she was working.  
“Pass me a Pylex driver.” She ordered. Finn stood up to find it. “So where is your base?” She asked BB-8. BB-8 looked nervously back to Finn who mouthed ‘please’ to the droid. BB-8 then beeped and whistled loudly. “The Ileenium system?” She said, ducking back down with the tool Finn had just passed her. Finn gave a thumbs up to BB-8 who then extended a lighter on the end of his arm in an approximation of a droid thumbs up, retracting it quickly. “I’ll drop you two at Ponemah Terminal. I need the bonding tape, hurry!”  
“What about you?” Finn said as he scrambled for the bonding tape.  
“I’ve gotta get back to Jakku.” She replied as if it were obvious. Finn stopped looking and turned to her.  
“BACK TO JAK-!? Why does everyone want to go back to Jakku?!” Rey pointed to the bonding tape next to Finn’s foot.  
“I need that right now, because if I don’t patch this, the propulsion tank will overflow and fill the ship with poisonous gas!” Finn grabbed it and tossed it to her Rey disappearing back below.  
“Hey. Rey.” Finn eloquently starts. “You’re a pilot. You can fly anywhere! Why go back? You got a family? You got a boyfriend? Cute boyfriend?”  
“None of your business, that’s why!” Rey replied, annoyed. Having fixed the motivator, she climbed out of the hole in the floor. As she finished her sentence however, the power on the Falcon shut off. BB-8 beeped nervously.  
“That can’t be good.” Said Finn.

-

When Han Solo entered the Falcon for the first time in years and found a couple of stowaways, he was ready to immediately jettison them to the next habited planet. Then he spoke to Rey and Finn. In Rey, he saw part of himself. A natural born flying genius with both the head to fix the Millenium Falcon, and the heart to love his ship as he did. In Finn, he saw a man that wanted to run from whatever big problem the First Order had caused now, but felt duty bound to help a lone droid make its way to the Resistance. He couldn’t deny, this was almost exactly what had happened to him and Luke, years before. Han felt the barriers around his emotions, that he’d so carefully erected, begin to crack slightly.  
As Han ran through the massive freighter, dodging Rathtars and Kanjiklub however he could, he had begun to acknowledge what Bala-Tik had said. He was getting old. There actually WAS no one left for him to swindle. Maybe it was time to pass the Falcon on to new blood. Maybe try to find somewhere quiet to retire, out of the way from all his regrets of the past.  
Han knew that when he saw Rey and Finn again, alive despite two gangs and three Rathtars and running their way to the Falcon, that this was probably the Force nudging him into doing something he really didn’t want to do.  
When they jumped into Hyperspace, heading to Maz’s place, and he watched Rey ‘By-pass the compressor’ by simply pulling it out, he knew that he’d found the heir to the Millenium Falcon. He definitely did not want to admit it though. Nope. Nuh-uh. Never gonna say it.  
When he watched Finn fumble with the Holo-Chess set, he saw himself when he was younger. Stupid, trying to be cocky when he had nothing to back that up with. It was all Han could do to not groan. Stupid Force.  
When he saw the map that would lead to his friend of many years, he almost teared up. He waxed reminiscent to Finn and Rey about the Jedi, the Force, his amazing friend Luke, how Luke walked away from it all. Han saw Chewie from the corner of his eye. Chewie was looking at him with those deep old eyes he had. Han could never hide anything from Chewie. The wookie gave a quiet snuffle and leaned back on the lounge couch. Han knew he was laughing at him because he sounded just like Old Ben Kenobi. What a galaxy this was.  
Han gave a two handed blaster to Finn, and he gave a pistol blaster to Rey. Outside in the greenery of Takodana, he could see the parallels between Finn and Rey to Chewie and himself. Han knew it was time. After each step he took towards Maz’s Castle, he felt like he was Ben Kenobi, leading Luke to the Mos Eisley Cantina as Finn and Rey followed behind him. Han had a bad feeling about this. 

“HAN SOLO.” Maz declared to the entire bar. Han stopped short. So did all the patrons in the bar. He raised his hand in greeting.  
“Hiya, Maz.” He said, smiling as flat a smile as he could. In his head he was running through every single swear he knew. Now everyone in the kriffing galaxy would know where he was. The general rumble of the bar started up again as if nothing had happened.  
Maz did the weird eye thing to Finn. Han tried to not facepalm. He knew Maz was legit in what she saw, but that didn’t stop him hating what was about to come next.  
“I see the eyes of a man who wants to run.” She said.  
“You don’t know a thing about me.” Finn said, anger just under the surface of his voice. Maz then told Finn about the two pirates who were heading to the Outer Rim. He nodded curtly and stalked off to talk to them. He offered the blaster back to Han. Han shook his head.  
“Keep it, kid.” Finn nodded and walked away. Rey got up to follow after him.

“Who’s the girl?” Maz asked Han frankly. Han looked back at Maz and grimaced. “You can feel it, can’t you? The way the Force swirls around her.” Maz leaned back in her chair expectantly. Han shook his head.  
“I’ve never been able to feel the Force, Maz, you know that. But after this long, I definitely know what it looks like when the Force is doing something big. So yeah. I know about her. She’s the next Luke.” Han said definitively. Maz simply ‘Hmm’d’ at him and didn’t say anything else. 

“Finn, what’re you doing?” Rey said, interrupting him as he spoke to the two aliens. Finn looked at her seriously and then looked back to the aliens.  
“Don’t leave without me, okay?” He said. The alien with the red helmet said something that was probably laced with profanity, but nodded. Finn got up from the table and gently pulled Rey to the side, out of the way of everyone.  
“I thought you wanted to finish your friend’s mission?” Rey said accusingly. Finn had the good grace to look chagrined at this, but he looked back at her, their eyes meeting solidly.  
“Rey, Maz was right, I do want to run. I want to run from all of this. The First Order especially.” At Rey’s still confused face, he continued. “Rey I was a stormtrooper. I was a part of the First Order.” Rey’s eyes widened, nearly in fear at this. Finn continued anyway. “They ordered me to murder people in cold blood. I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it. And for that, there would have been… consequences.” Finn shivered at this. “And I knew that the First Order was not right. They’re not helping anyone. They’re just bringing people under their thumb to subjugate them. And they’ll use any means to do it. But I refused to play by their rules. I helped Poe Dameron escape the First Order, and now I’m helping myself to escape them as well. You could come with me. Come with me to the Outer Rim and we won’t have to live in fear of them at all.” Finn pleaded with Rey, hoping she could understand what he meant. But Rey stepped back.  
“Finn, I can’t… I have to get back to Jakku… My family could come back any time.” Rey said this, almost trying to convince herself. She had seen so much already that wasn’t on Jakku. What if her family didn’t want to see her on Jakku either? A hard look stole over Finn’s face.  
“I understand.” Finn didn’t look like he did. “Goodbye, Rey. Stay safe. And I hope you find your family soon.” Finn turned and walked away from her, the two aliens having stood by the doorway, waiting for him. He looked back once he reached the doorway, but Rey was gone. Frowning, Finn turned back to the outdoors and took the next step in the rest of his life.

-

Rey watched Finn walk away from her, from everything he said he was trying to do. She could hardly bear it, another person leaving her. Then she heard it. The cry of a small child coming from the stairs that led downwards behind her. She stepped down the flagstone stairs into a long, dark hallway, BB-8 following close behind her. BB-8’s concern for his Jakku friend compelling him to help her, even if it's just his presence.  
Rey heard it again, a cry for help from a child. 'What does Maz have down here?' she thought to herself. BB-8 stopped short, tensely waiting for Rey as she stepped closer to a blast door on the left hand side of the hallway. The red lock light suddenly turned to green and the blast door slid upwards with a clang, seemingly of its own volition. Rey stepped into the cluttered room as if in a trance. The sounds from the bar above faded to nothing as a heavy silence draped over her. In the dusty room there were many fabrics and crates and knickknacks, but Rey was drawn to a small wooden box that sat on top of a short crate. She knelt down and slowly opened the box. It creaked slightly as she did so. Within, Rey saw a gleaming silver cylinder with an opening on one end. Just to the right of it, in the corner of the box, was a palm sized cube that glowed a dim green, pulsing gently as though it were breathing. Rey tenderly reached into the box, considered the cylinder for a moment, but instead picked up the small cube. Immediately, the cube brightened in her grasp, green light nearly blinding her. As she blinked the lights out of her eyes, she gave a start when she heard a *snap-hiss* behind her. Whirling around, she appeared to be on Jakku again, but there were two suns instead of one large, overbearing one. She watched as a man with long hair, a close cropped beard, and a brown poncho bring to bear a green laser sword against an alien with dark red skin with black decorations upon it, hooded in black. The alien deflected the green laser sword with a red one of his own. As the green laser sword was knocked back into Rey, she shut her eyes in fear. The next time she opened them, she was on a tall tower surrounded by bright durasteel buildings, ships flying in organized patterns glinted in the dying light of the sunset, watching a grey haired man whirl around, his well tailored cloak flapping in the breeze. A young man knelt next to her, head bowed in defeat, a destroyed hilt of a laser sword- ‘Lightsaber.’ Came unbidden to her- the older man getting in a ship and flying off from the planet. Turning back to the defeated man, she saw a different man, a teenager, crying in anguish.  
“Why, Master? Why did you do it?” He begged to the pitiless wind and rain that pelted them, his dark hair being plastered to his head. A great fire had overtaken what had once been a sprawling if simple building, it’s heat being felt even from a distance. She heard another snap-hiss and a more violent static sound from behind her, and she saw a black helmed monster wielding a red serrated lightsaber, a cross guard the main difference from what she had seen previously. The monster stepped towards her, lightsaber raised, the silver inlaid in the helm glinting off the light of the moon in the snowy forest she found herself in, the black absorbing all light and reflection. In that helm, Rey saw her end. She stumbled back, tripping, and falling flat in the dark flagstone corridor, BB-8 with her once again. Maz quickly walked towards her, slightly out of breath.  
“What was that?” Rey said, standing up and gasping, the terror that had gripped her earlier still feeling very present. “I shouldn’t have gone in there.”  
“That lightsaber,” Maz began. “Was Luke’s. And his fathers’ before him. And now, it calls to you!” She finished excitedly, her eyes behind her magnifying lenses widening. Rey shook her head.  
“I have to get back to Jakku.”  
“Han told me.” Maz replied, holding out her hand to Rey. Rey knelt down and took it, now at eye level with Maz. “Dear child, I see your eyes. You already know the truth. Whoever you’re waiting for on Jakku… They’re never coming back.” Rey felt the cruel sting of truth in Maz’s words. It would have been so easy to keep pretending. To keep believing that someone was coming for her. It made the tears that fell from her eyes burn on their way down her cheeks. “But…” Maz continued, “There’s someone who still could.”  
“Luke?” Rey questioned in a whisper.  
“The belonging you seek isn’t behind you. It is ahead. I am no Jedi, but I know the Force. It moves through and surrounds every living thing. Close your eyes… feel it. The light is always there… to guide you.” Maz shut her eyes, and Rey could tell that she was being looked at in a far different way than just visual. Maz opened her eyes once again, sending a piercing look at Rey. “The saber. Take it.” Rey stood up abruptly.  
“I don’t want any part of this.” She ran off, up the stairs, and out of the bar, followed loyally by BB-8. Maz sighed, never noticing the slight square shape in Rey’s side pouch. 

-

Finn looked up from where he was helping load crates of supplies into the alien’s ship. He saw one of his greatest fears. Red streaks of energy lancing through the sky and making faded new stars where they impacted on the Hosnian System. He felt the blood drain from his face. The First Order had done it. They drained a sun and destroyed an entire system with Starkiller Base. He immediately dropped the crate he was lifting and ran down the steps of the ship and ran back to Maz’s Castle, glad to see Han as he stepped outside to see what had happened.  
“It was the Republic! The First Order, they’ve done it.” Finn looked to see Rey’s reaction. But he didn’t see her. He asked Han worriedly. “Where’s Rey?”

Rey was out of breath from running so deep into the forest of Takodana. She leaned against a large rock, distraught and confused. Then she heard a timid beep from behind her. Whirling around, she saw BB-8.  
“What’re you doing?” She scolded the droid. The droid beeped back in response.  
“You have to go back.”  
A confused beep.  
“I’m leaving.”  
A determined beep.  
“BB-8, you can’t, you’re too important. You have to go back, they’ll help you.” She pleaded with the droid, kneeling down to eye level, trying desperately to make it understand. Then she heard a sound that made the hairs on the back of her head stand up. The screech of an approaching TIE Fighter. She looked up and saw a huge force of First Order ships flying in the direction of Maz’s Castle. ‘Finn and Han.’ She thought worriedly, racing off to the castle, BB-8 following her.

Maz led Finn, Han, and Chewie down to the flagstone hallway where Rey had been just a few minutes before. She entered the cluttered room and without ceremony, pulled out Luke’s Lightsaber.  
“I’ve had this for ages. Kept it locked away.” She said, holding it up to Finn. Han looked at the Lightsaber with a combination of fear and reverence.  
“Where did you get that?” Han asked.  
“It was caught in a Gas Trawler while I was on Bespin. I… convinced the operator to give it to me.” Han seemed surprised by this. Maz motioned for Finn to take the lightsaber. “Take it! Find your friend!” Finn reached out and grabbed it, it was both heavier and lighter than he expected. After a moment, there was an explosion, and dust rained down on them from the ceiling. “Those beasts.” Maz said angrily. “They’re here.” Chewie growled nervously. 

Rey reached the edge of the forest just in time to see TIE Fighters destroying the ancient architecture of Maz’s Castle. A rough engine sound came from the side of the castle and Rey turned to see an intimidating black ship with tall, angled wings, land just beyond the castle. She then heard the modulated voice of a stormtrooper.  
“FN-417, hold position.”  
Rey fumbled for the grey blaster Han had given her, she aimed it at the stormtrooper and fired. Only nothing happened.  
“Oh, safety.” She cursed to herself quietly. But the stormtrooper heard her and shot at Rey first, the first shot whizzing past her head. Rey managed to toggle the safety, fired once and missed, hitting a rock. She quickly fired a second time, hitting the stormtrooper directly in the heart. He dropped immediately. Rey looked at the blaster she had just used to kill someone with. She knew intrinsically that killing was wrong. But the trooper had tried to kill her first. And damn it felt good to fight back on even ground for once. She whirled about, aiming her blaster at the next stormtrooper she saw, this once twice the distance away from the other one. She watched him fall, a smoking hole in his helmet, satisfaction curling in her chest. She fired again at the next stormtrooper but missed, and they had now taken notice of her, blaster shots raining around her. BB-8 made a worried beep from behind her, snapping her out of her fuge. Rey turned and ran, BB-8 barely keeping ahead of her, the stormtrooper chasing her into the forest. 

-

“General Hux,” the deep modulated voice of Kylo Ren rang across the bridge of the Star Destroyer, Finalizer. “Is it the resistance pilot?”  
“Yes,” Hux replied with disdain. “And he had help. From one of our own. We’re checking the register now to identify which stormtrooper it was.” Kylo Ren stepped forward slightly, seemingly looking into the distance. Kylo could clearly see the body language of the stormtrooper in his mind. Full of regret and uncertainty. He remembered when he used to look like that.  
“The one from the village. FN-2187.” He said with certainty. Hux turned to look at him incredulously.  
“Sir, Ventral Cannons hot.” A controller said, interrupting whatever Hux might have said. Hux nodded back to them.  
“Fire.”

-

Kylo heard the nervous steps of a Petty Officer behind him. He wondered absently what the man had done to deserve to make a bad report to him. Probably lost a bet.  
“Sir. We were unable to acquire the droid on Jakku.” Gulped the Officer. Kylo turned slightly to the man. The invitation to continue, unspoken. “It escaped capture aboard a stolen Corellian Y-T Model Freighter.” At this, Kylo’s blood turned hot in his face. A Corellian Freighter? This could only lead to his father. Even through his anger, he managed to keep his voice steady.  
“The droid… stole a freighter?” He asked incredulously, with a hint of menace.  
“Not exactly, sir.” The officer nervously said. “It had help.” Kylo turned to face the man completely now. “We have no confirmation but we believe FN-2187 may have helped in the escape-” Kylo ignited his lightsaber in his rage and began destroying a computer terminal as a way to not slaughter the man in front of him. No droid, no map to Skywalker, a traitor in their ranks. His blood was boiling in anger. Finally he stopped, retracting the weapon.  
“Anything else?” He asked casually, barely seeing the man out of the corner of his eye.  
“The two were accompanied by a girl.” Kylo snapped around and held out his hand to Force choke the unfortunate officer and dragged him into his hand.  
“WHAT GIRL.”

-

General Hux left the holochamber, sparing a quick smirk at Ren, finally having permission to fire Starkiller Base, and leaving Kylo to deal with Supreme Leader Snoke on his own.  
"There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?" Rumbled the deep, gravelly voice of Supreme Leader Snoke.  
"Yes." Kylo replied.  
"There is something more. The droid we seek is in the hands of your father. Han Solo." Kylo stiffened in surprise.  
"He means nothing to me." Kylo said, without any heat.  
"Even you, Master of the Knights of Ren, have never faced such a test." If Ren didn't know any better, he'd say Snoke looked concerned.  
"By the grace of your training, I shall not be seduced."  
"We shall see." Snoke replied. "We shall see." His enormous hologram disappeared, leaving Kylo in near darkness. 

Kylo returned to his quarters, stepping heavily, making sure to not show any weakness until the door behind him closed. His quarters were spartan, just a bed, a small table, a chair and across the room, a pedestal. Upon the pedestal was the ghostly, deformed mask of Darth Vader. Kylo knelt down in front of it. His shoulders slumped as though the weight of the world were on them.  
"Forgive me. I feel it again. The pull to the light. Supreme Leader senses it. Show me again; the power of the darkness. I won't let anything stand in our way. I'll finish what you started." Kylo waited to hear something, see anything that wasn't the inside of his mask, but he felt nothing from the Force.  
"I never showed you anything." A man’s voice said casually. Kylo whipped around, lightsaber pointing at whoever would be so bold as to sneak in his bedroom. But he saw no one. Figuring this was a sign from the force, he spoke aloud.  
"Grandfather?"  
No reply came. Kylo was about to shake it off as his imagination. Just as he was about to leave his quarters, he heard the man’s voice again.  
"My first mentor will see you soon. Then you shall finish what I started." Kylo paused at the door, now certain what he heard was real. He then marched off, new strength in his shoulders. But what Kylo thought his grandfather said was very different from what Anakin Skywalker meant. 

-

The battle of Takodana was going smoothly. The air support had taken out most cover that could be used from the castle, and the Troopers were reporting easy pickings from the front lines.  
"Sir, the droid was seen in the company of a girl, heading west." A Stormtrooper reported smartly. Kylo's head whipped in the direction indicated, his cowl nearly sliding off his helmet. He quickly stalked off without another word, in Rey's direction. 

-

Chewie heaved an enormous piece of debris off of the group of Han, Finn, and his girlfriend Maz. Blaster fire was everywhere, the members of Maz's bar were being quickly overwhelmed by the well ordered and co-ordinated stormtroopers.  
"Come on, Chewie!" Han said, running off, blaster in hand, already opening fire on the nearest stormtroopers. Chewbacca quickly followed, his heavier bowcaster blowing away enemies.  
"Rey and BB-8 need you, Finn! Go!" Maz shouted over the weapons fire and the sound of TIE-Fighters.  
"I need a weapon!" Finn said. Maz grabbed his hand and pushed the lightsaber up to him.  
"You have one!"  
Finn, surprised for a moment, pressed a button on the lightsaber, and with a snap-hiss, a bright azure blade ignited. He nodded at Maz and took off running.  
Managing to surprise a stormtrooper, he stabbed them through their back and kept running, desperately not wanting to see their squad number. Another trooper raised their blaster at him, but Finn was too quick; he sliced off the front of the barrel of the blaster and then sliced through the torso of the shocked stormtrooper. Finn wondered for a moment if this is what Kylo Ren felt when he killed the old man on Jakku. It was easy. Almost too easy. He made the mistake of looking at the Trooper’s designation. FN-2100. Finn knew him. He felt the bile start to rise in his throat, until he heard something that made him stop cold.  
“TRAITOR!”  
Finn whirled around raising his lightsaber in a gut reaction to block. That reaction saved his life, as Captain Phasma crashed down upon him with a Riot Control baton. Finn was momentarily surprised that the lightsaber didn’t cut through the weapon, but didn’t have another moment to think before Phasma was on him again, her overwhelming strength and height giving her an advantage that was only balanced out by Finn’s relatively weightless weapon.  
“I gave you every opportunity!” Phasma hollered as she parried a blow from Finn. “You could have been the best of the First Order!” She struck out again, baton whirling, Finn only barely managing to dodge out of the way. “And you threw all that away for what? A half remembered dream of the past? The Resistance? PATHETIC!” With her last word, she crashed the lightsaber aside with her baton and jammed Finn in the chest with it, blowing him away several feet with the electricity. She stood there, glinting in the sun, her metallic armor reflecting a distorted vision of Finn’s own pained face. He stood up slowly, his arms shaking from exertion and the electricity still running through them, though his grip on the lightsaber was still tight.  
“I didn’t throw away anything that I needed, Phasma.” Finn took a shaky step towards her. “I didn’t want to be the best of the First Order!” His voice stronger now, he took another step. “I helped a brave man who gave me my name. His name was Poe Dameron.” He raised his lightsaber.  
“Your name is FN-2187.” Phasma scoffed, readying the baton once more.  
“MY NAME IS FINN!” He roared, swinging his lightsaber down with renewed ferocity. Now Phasma was the one retreating, unable to get a solid guard up after Finn’s wild charge. “I didn’t throw away anything!” He brought his lightsaber swinging in under Phasma’s guard, the weightless speed aiding him, slashing the unenergized part of the baton off, disarming Phasma. He then kicked her in the stomach, sending her to the ground, pointing his lightsaber at her. “I took my freedom, at the end of a blaster.” He declared. Finn was so elated at besting Phasma that he didn’t notice the subtle nod she made. Finn suddenly felt fire on his arm. He screamed in pain, dropping the lightsaber to clutch at his burning bicep, a stormtrooper having shot him from behind.  
“And now I will take your life from you, at the end of my blaster.” Phasma said menacingly, standing over Finn, her sidearm pointed at his head. Finn stared back defiantly at Phasma. He could see her arm tensing. He shut his eyes. Then he heard the roar of Chewbacca and multiple blaster sounds. Opening his eyes again, he saw Phasma shooting over his head. Han and Chewie shot at the stormtroopers that had surrounded him. Han ducked out of the way of a blaster bolt from Phasma and fired back from behind cover. Both blaster shots hit her in the head and chest and she was staggered, but not killed, her armor protecting her for the most part. Suddenly, the ground behind Phasma exploded, sending her careening over Finn’s head and to the ground, seemingly unconscious. Finn looked up, the dust falling around him and he saw his new favourite sight. Resistance X-Wings, racing through the air, chasing and destroying TIE Fighters. He followed the black and orange X-Wing that roared overhead, having saved him from near certain death. It pivoted and tumbled, effortlessly avoiding TIE Fighter and ground based fire while doing damage with every single blaster shot. Finn watched as the X-Wing blew up an entrenchment of First Order troopers, and then looped the loop to avoid a pursuing TIE Fighter while simultaneously destroying another one that was chasing after another X-Wing, before leveling out and cleanly shooting off the wing of the TIE Fighter that was chasing it before, sending it plummeting into a Troop Transport, destroying both.  
Finn gave a whoop of victory. “That’s one hell of a pilot!” He yelled, pumping his fist in victory. He picked up the lightsaber from where he had dropped it, favoring his left arm, and jogged to follow the X-Wing that had saved his life. Then he saw something that took the pulse of victory straight from his veins.  
Rey was unconscious and being carried into Kylo Ren’s personal transport by Kylo Ren.  
“REY!” He cried in anguish, running to the ship, no longer caring about his injury. But Finn was too far away, and the ship took off without trouble. “REY!”  
Han reached Finn and put a hand on his shoulder, Finn’s expression of grief and loss closely mirroring his own. 

-

Rey’s most recent nightmare had come true. After she had sent BB-8 away to hide, she ran in the opposite direction, making as much noise as she could to hopefully lead anyone following them away from BB-8. She stopped to gather her breath, not used to the heavily oxygenated atmosphere of Takodana. Then she began to hear sounds. Blaster fire. The hum of a lightsaber. Deep breathing. Was that her? Suddenly the black helmed monster from her vision loomed in front of her, serrated lightsaber crackling against the air. But this time she did not stumble back. There was no flagstone corridor. This was real. Rey raised her blaster and shot at the monster. The lightsaber deflected the bolt to the side. Seeing that, Rey ran as fast as she could, shooting back when she could, bolts going wild, some on target, only to be deflected away. She backed away, face set in despair, shooting exhaustively against a foe for whom she had no defence against. Suddenly the monster raised its arm and Rey felt her arm holding the blaster forced to suddenly point at the ground behind her and was unable to move. Not from fear. But from some force holding her in place. The monster walked up close to her. Too close for comfort.  
“The girl I’ve heard so much about.” It spoke as it walked past her, Rey unable to move her head to follow it- him? Suddenly, scarlet light was too close to her chin. She could see the lightsaber out of the corner of her eye. “The droid. Where is it?” He demanded imperiously. Rey said nothing, both out of fear, and a determination to keep BB-8 safe. The man in the mask removed the lightsaber from the side of her neck and walked back in front of her. He held his hand out towards her head. Suddenly she could see herself back in the Millenium Falcon, BB-8 having just shown her the map. “The map- you’ve seen it.” The black clad monster stated, having seen what she had just seen. Rey looked back up in fear, back in the forest once again. He had seen her memory.  
“Sir, Resistance fighters. We need more troops.” A stormtrooper announced.  
“Pull the division out. Forget the droid. We have what we need.” The monster said. Rey’s last thought was of Finn and BB-8, fear running through her heart. The monster knocked her unconscious. 

On his ship on the return to The Finalizer, Kylo Ren inspected the unconscious girl that had seen the map to Skywalker. He thought her altogether plain if not for her connection to his goal. He took her blaster and gave it to an attending Stormtrooper guard. He then rifled through her pouch. There was nothing much in there. Bandages. Two credits. Tape. A screwdriver. He was about to just ignore it when he noticed a dim green glow right at the bottom of the pouch. Reaching in and pulling it to the opening, he was astounded. This scavenger, this nobody, had a Jedi Holocron.  
“Go to the cockpit.” Kylo ordered his two guards. They saluted smartly and left, leaving Kylo and their prisoner alone in the hold of the ship. Only when Kylo was absolutely certain they had left, he pulled the Holocron all the way out. It glowed dimly in his hand, pulsing gently. Kylo pressed a button to fully lock the door to the hold. He definitely did not want to be disturbed by a single fool with what he was about to do next. Kylo gently directed the Force to the palm sized cube in his hand. The sides of the cube folded out, the top unrolling to reveal the hollow inside, occupied by a sole circular module. It was banded with silver, the center glowed the same green as the outside had done. Kylo coaxed more of the Force into the device. Suddenly a figure appeared on the center of the circular module.  
“I am Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. You are currently in possession of my Holocron. If you are dedicated, I will teach you all I know.” Kylo blinked in shock. He flexed the Force, closing the cube up once more, and quickly hiding it on his person. Kylo knew that he should present it to Supreme Leader Snoke. He knew that he should throw it away and never look at the light-side teachings within. But the part of him that was still Ben Solo still ached to be a Jedi, even after his master's betrayal. Kylo Ren hated what he was going to do. Ben Solo was excited. But Kylo Ren still had a job to do. And he still wanted vengeance. And so he put all thoughts of the cube of knowledge out of his mind until he was locked and sequestered in his quarters. 

Finn sat despondently in the Resistance Transport ship across from the brig where he could see the still body of Captain Phasma, still out cold from the concussive force of the x-wings cannons. She was no longer clad in her reflective silver armor. She was wearing the standard issue First Order black pants and black shirt. Finn couldn't even bring himself to gloat. His friend had been kidnapped by the first order- by Kylo Ren no less. The Resistance's victory felt hollow to him. Phasma's eyes snapped open then closed again just as quickly. Finn looked over at her unconcerned as she slowly moved, testing her restraints.  
"I know you're awake, Phasma." Finn said flatly. "You're locked in the brig of a Resistance Transport, and your legs and arms are secured. The only way you're getting out of here is when we land at the Resistance base." Phasma immediately stopped bluffing and sat up against the far side wall of the brig. She stared at Finn with a cold and calculating look. She then shut her eyes again without saying a word. Finn scoffed. "All those big words on Takodana and nothing to say now?" He asked. Phasma still said nothing. Finn shrugged. They sat in silence until they landed, Finn leaving the transport as Resistance troopers entered to escort the prisoner. 

-

The moment Poe had been told that ‘Ren wants the prisoner’ he had believed that he was being led to his execution. Then the beauty of hope had presented itself in the face of a no longer faceless stormtrooper. His flawless skin, his perfect nose, his close-cropped hair, his eyes; deep but nervous in the moment. Poe wouldn’t say he’d fallen in love at first sight, but when being presented with a perfect opportunity to escape from the deepest shit he’d ever been in, it certainly made the bearer of good news exceedingly beautiful. Escaping the Star Destroyer, being the first person to call the stormtrooper ‘Finn’, it all made for a phenomenal lead up to the biggest nosedive, both literal and figurative, that Poe had ever taken when they were hit by a Ventral Cannon shot.  
When Poe woke up in the middle of the night, he couldn’t see where the TIE Fighter they escaped in was, he couldn’t see his new best friend Finn. But he could see pinpricks of light in the distance. Shivering with the cold having taken off his jacket with the TIE Fighter, Poe began to jog steadily towards the lights, trying to expedite his travel time as well as warm himself up. What he found was a huge amount of destruction at what had once been what the locals described as Niima Outpost. Making his way to the excuse of a spaceport that was left, he saw multiple scavengers going through the debris of destroyed ships and destroyed structures. He also saw a nearly unscathed personal transport ship. It was small, big enough for one person to comfortably move about within. It was sandy brown with one large afterburner in the rear, easily concealable from a distance on a desert planet. A quick punch and a cloak later, Poe hotwired the transport ship and soared off to the Ileenium System, the Resistance Base. He had landed and had enough time to debrief what had happened to the General as well as wash up before he was told to jump in an X-Wing and go fight the First Order once again. Poe was more than ready to show the First Order EXACTLY what he could do when they were on even ground, so to speak. Fighter to Fighter. In the air. Poe knew he was hot shit, so when he raced over the water on the verdant planet of Takodana and saw the first TIE Fighter lazily firing at a stone structure, he raced ahead of the rest of the Black Squadron and immediately destroyed it. From that moment, Poe was one with his X-Wing. There was nothing like fighting in an atmosphere in something that could fly. Some people had their favourite blaster. Others had a favourite card game. Poe had his favourite T-70 X-Wing Starfighter. He knew every nuance, every flaw, every advantage of that fighter. He knew where he could climb, he knew where he should bank. He could feel the air currents through the controls. So when he saw a silver stormtrooper standing over a kneeling person, he knew just where to fire to knock out the stormtrooper without injuring the kneeling person. After that, it was a flurry of dogfighting until the First Order pulled out. 

Poe and the Black Squadron headed back to their base, the taste of victory sweet on their lips. Then they heard about the destruction of the Hosnian System and the destruction of The New Republic over their radios. Suddenly, the victory tasted hollow. It was with a heavy but determined heart that Poe landed. He had just gotten out of his X-Wing to inspect it after the Battle of Takodana when he heard a familiar excited beep from behind him. He whirled around to see BB-8 rolling to him as quickly as the droid could. Poe was shocked and excited. BB-8 was at the Resistance! He still had the map! Poe’s failed mission was suddenly a success! And then BB-8 mentioned Finn. Poe immediately looked up to see that shining symbol of hope, that perfect man, his newest best friend. Poe and Finn raced towards each other.  
“Poe? Poe Dameron!” Finn called.  
“Buddy!” Poe replied as they crashed together hugging each other tightly, heedless of other Resistance members going about their jobs. They soon- too soon for Poe- released their embrace, though they still kept their hands on each other’s shoulders, as if not believing that the other one was there.  
“You’re alive!” Finn said, his eyes bright, happy tears coming to the edges but not flowing over.  
“So are you!” Poe laughed, so glad to have the man that saved him back, from what he thought was the dead.  
“What happened to you?” Finn asked.  
“What happened? I got thrown from the crash, woke up at night, no ship, no you, nothing- BB-8 says you saved him!” Poe answered, good cheer coloring his voice when BB-8 beeped gratefully about Finn.  
“No, no, it wasn’t just me.” Finn replied modestly, though his pride was evident to Poe.  
“You completed my mission, Finn.” Poe said, pointing good naturedly at Finn when he noticed: “Is that my jacket?”  
“Oh, sorry, here.” Finn began taking it off.  
“No! You keep it. It suits you.” Poe smiled as Finn gratefully shrugged his old jacket back on. Poe couldn’t deny the slight heat that coloured his cheeks when Finn smiled at him. Poe could almost imagine he saw the same heat on Finn’s face. That was, until Finn’s face fell into a serious look.  
“Poe, I need your help.” Finn begged.  
“Anything you need.” Poe immediately answered, his face mirroring Finn’s own serious look. BB-8 also beeped in confirmation. Finn told Poe about his second friend Rey, what they had been through, and that he had last seen her unconcious, being kidnapped on Kylo Ren’s ship. Poe nodded and immediately led him to see the General. Poe was grateful to this Rey who had helped Finn. A friend of Finn’s was a friend of his, or so the saying went. So he would do his very best to help. And the very best person to help would be the General. Finn also told him that he knew what had destroyed the Hosnian system. That made Poe stumble a moment but quickly recovered, his pace faster now. 

Finn was surprised when Poe led him into a bunker that led deep underground. Wet soil showed behind the collection of slate and vines that made up the walls of the stairway that led to the Command Center of the Resistance. Green lights of computer screens complemented the earthiness of the bunker. Finn was gazing all around, seeing all the technicians, important looking people, all as different as could be. It made for a sharp contrast from the First Order, their xenophobic command structure and their polished shine of their ships. While it was undoubtedly a center of Resistance power, it still felt homely, full of personality and warmth. Finn decided that he liked this much better than the cold environments of the First Order.  
“General Organa. Sorry to interrupt, this is Finn, he needs to talk to you-” Poe began. The General cut him off and took Finn’s hand. Finn’s attention was immediately on the older woman. She wore comfortable clothes with muted colors. Her hair was braided up out of her face. Finn noted that other than Poe saying her name, he would have had no way of distinguishing her rank from anyone else in the bunker.  
“And I need to talk to him. That was incredibly brave, what you did. Renouncing the First Order, saving this man's life-” Finn was surprised that she knew what he’d done.  
“Thank you, ma'am. But a friend of mine was taken prisoner.” Finn implored.  
“Han told me about the girl, I'm sorry.” Poe jumped in at this moment.  
“Finn's familiar with the weapon that destroyed the Hosnian system. He worked on the base.” He said. It was now General Organa’s turn to be surprised.  
“We're desperate for anything you can tell us. We’ve been unable to get anything out of Captain Phasma as of yet.”  
“That's where my friend was taken. I've got to get there, fast.” Finn said, impatientence beginning to color his tone.  
“And I will do everything I can to help, but first you must tell us all you know.” General Organa said honestly.

-

Rey jerked awake. She felt the cold grip of steel against her wrists, held down in a restraining rig. It was tilted most of the way up, not quite upright, but near enough that she didn’t have to move her neck to see the monster from the forest before her. The holding cell seemingly only having the two of them in it.  
“Where am I?” Rey said, parched. The monster waited a moment before answering.  
“...You’re my guest.” It said.  
“Where are the others?” She ventures, anger beginning to eclipse fear.  
“You mean the murderers, traitors, and thieves you call friends?” Rey stared at him incredulously. “You’ll be relieved to hear that I have no idea.” Rey let out a breath of relief. Silence blanketed the cell for a long moment. Now that she wasn’t running for her life, she studied the masked being in front of her. It was tall, though it wasn’t skinny. Indeed, their barrel chest only seemed to enhance the size of the monster. Though, now Rey could think slightly clearer, she reasoned it more than likely had to be a man, considering it worked with the First Order.  
“You still want to kill me.” The masked man said, breaking the silence.  
“That’s what happens when you’re being hunted by a creature in a mask.” Rey said defiantly. The ‘creature’ stepped closer, not rising to the bait.  
“Tell me about the droid.”  
Rey, after a nervous moment began to speak. “He's a BB unit with a selenium drive and a thermal hyperscan vindicator-” He cut her off at that point.  
“It’s carrying a section of a navigational chart. We have the rest, recovered from the archives of the Empire. We need the last piece. And somehow, you convinced the droid to show it to you. You. A scavenger.” How did he know? Rey thought desperately. “You know I can take whatever knowledge I want.” Rey looked at the mask where the eyes would be on a human, worry beginning to seep in. The man moved closer and raised his hand to her head, fingers splayed out. Rey tried to recoil but she was unable to move from where she was restrained. His hand nearly touched her head when suddenly Rey felt an energy. It was as though her sternum vibrated on some deep frequency, a deep feeling, both old and familiar and new and terrifying. The man recoiled suddenly from her. For a brief moment, Rey felt as though she could see past the mask and see the man within. She could see his brown eyes and the surprise and confusion within them. She knew he felt the same thing she did. Then the moment passed. His hand returned to its previous position. Pain lanced through Rey’s skull as the man began to speak once more. “You're so lonely... so afraid to leave… At night, desperate to sleep... you imagine an ocean. I see it. I see the island.” Tears from the pain began to leak down her face as she tried to resist, tried to break free. “And Han Solo. You feel like he's the father you never had. He would’ve disappointed you.”  
“Get out of my head.” Rey says, teeth grit together. The man leaned closer.  
“I know you've seen the map. It's in there... and now you'll give it to me. Don't be afraid. I feel it too.” He said, his modulated voice not soothing the pain behind her eyes.  
“I'm not giving you ANYTHING.” Rey declared, pain lending strength to her voice.  
“We'll see.” He said dismissively. However, in the next moment, he came up against a barrier in her mind.

Kylo couldn’t understand it. She was a scavenger. A nobody. Yet now, where there was no resistance, there was suddenly a barrier. ‘This shouldn’t be possible’ he thought to himself. Suddenly he felt a pressure in his own head. The look on the scavenger’s face was a cross between fury and pain, the pressure on him increased.He peered into her eyes intensely. She met his gaze through his mask.  
“You... you're afraid... that you will never be as strong as... Darth Vader! She shouted, startling Kylo. He yanked his hand back as though he were burnt and took a step back, confused and rattled at her declaration. She had seen into his mind. Having released her, Rey’s body relaxed, her pain receding as Kylo did. He left the cell quickly, still feeling the scavenger’s eyes upon him.

“Guard her.” Kylo said distractedly to the stormtrooper outside of the door. They nodded and stepped into the cell, closing the door behind them. Kylo stalked the corridors of Starkiller Base, patrolling troopers taking extra care to stay out of his way, not wanting to get in the way of his fury. But what Kylo felt now was not fury. It was confusion. How could the girl resist him? She had to be Force sensitive, but she also had to be completely untrained. But how could she have stopped him? His feet led him to the door of the holochamber where Supreme Leader Snoke would hand down his orders. Kylo was about to enter to inform Snoke about the girl’s strength in the Force when he stopped. He felt the palm sized cube in his pocket. It sat there, its weight innocuous but noticeable all the same. Kylo lowered his hand from the door control. He considered for a brief moment, then he rushed off to his secure quarters in the base. 

His quarters were much the same as those on his ship. Spartan. Clean. But lacking the melted helmet of Darth Vader, though a pedestal for it was there, just across from his bed. It was there that Kylo Ren placed the Jedi Holocron. He then slowly removed his helmet and placed it next to him on the bed. His shoulder length dark hair fell down across his face, mussed by his helmet. He swept it out of his eyes with a gloved hand and considered the artifact across from him. Kylo had never been as confused as he was now. The scavenger had power in the Force. Enough to resist him and reflect his attack back on him. But was he also afraid that he’d never be as strong as Darth Vader? Supreme Leader Snoke had compared him to the powerful Sith lord, hailing him as the second coming of Vader. But now… Kylo looked at the Holocron. Would Darth Vader be as desperate for answers from a Jedi Holocron as Kylo felt now? He sighed. He then reached out with the Force to unlock the Holocron.  
Now when Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn appeared on the center circlet, he was seated in a meditative position rather than standing, the same small size as when he appeared the first time. Kylo manipulated the Force on the circlet, causing the Jedi to increase in size until he was the average size for a human. He had long hair, partially tied back. A beard wrapped its way around his face, touches of grey appearing at the sides of his mouth and at his temples. His eyes remained closed. Kylo waited for a minute, but still the projection did not say anything. He was about to deactivate the Holocron when it spoke to him, the eyes still closed.  
“You’re not going to be able to meditate in a position like that.” Qui-Gon said, startling Kylo. Qui-Gon opened his eyes. “Come now, I can’t very well teach you if you don’t know the first meditative position. Sit now, as I do.” He said, gesturing to his crossed legs. Kylo looked at the hologram in suspicion but slowly crossed his legs on the bed the same way Qui-Gon’s were. “Much better.” Qui-Gon nodded. Kylo was about to say something when Qui-Gon spoke first. “I will have to test you to see what you know of the Force before I can begin to teach you the lessons I have encoded in this Holocron.” Kylo was about to speak again, but Qui-Gon held up his hand for silence. “I’m sure like all youth, you are impatient to learn the great secrets of the Force and the power behind it.” Kylo said nothing, but Qui-Gon seemed to sense the want for power from him. “Fortunately, I can impart that knowledge to you immediately.” Kylo blinked in surprise.  
“What-” He started, only to be interrupted once again.  
“Am I to think that you in fact wish to be tested extensively in all aspects of your knowledge in the Force and use up what is undoubtedly a very nice day?” Qui-Gon said with a measure of dry humor. Kylo was surprised by the quick turnaround by the hologram and couldn’t muster up anything aside from shaking his head.  
“Good.” Qui-Gon said. “Now close your eyes and reach out, and hear now the words I shall impart to you that have served me well for many years.” Kylo slowly shut his eyes and reached out with his senses and the Force. He could feel the occasional patrol of a stormtrooper pass his doorway, but beyond that, he sensed nothing but the Holocron in front of him. Qui-Gon spoke again, this time his voice was serious and even. "There is no emotion, there is peace.  
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force."  
Kylo felt the words wash over him, catching his imagination in their swirling eddies of sound.  
“Repeat them to me, young padawan.” The deep voice of Qui-Gon requested. Kylo didn’t even think to bristle at being called a ‘young padawan’ before he spoke the words back.  
“There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.” Kylo said, feeling the words resonate through his body. When he reached out for the Force, he was no longer grasping it and bending it to his will. He felt the force flow around him, acting as it would, but directed by him. Kylo slowly opened his eyes, only to see an inactive Holocron and that he was floating several feet off his bed, legs still crossed. Then his door control buzzed loudly and the mildly nasally voice of Hux rang through his room, shattering his concentration.  
“Ren, the Supreme Leader demands an audience with us.” Kylo’s door slid open, his helmet replaced, Holocron hidden once again on his person.  
“Lead on, Hux.” Kylo said, voice modulated once more. As the two made their way to the Holochamber, Kylo couldn’t get the words Qui-Gon Jinn had said to him out of his mind. 

“There is no emotion, there is peace.” Kylo thought to himself, stormtroopers standing at attention as he and General Hux walked past.

Rey struggled against her restraints but they were too well designed to keep prisoners in place. Then she heard the crackle of radio static from behind her. Twisting her head around, she could barely make out the white armor of a stormtrooper from the corner of her eye. Turning back around, her mind raced. The man in the mask had forced her to see things in her mind. But then she had resisted him. Maybe it was possible for her to do the same to the stormtrooper. She tried to get in the same headspace as before when she felt herself see inside that man’s head.  
“You will release these restraints and leave this cell with the door open.” Rey said aloud, hoping that it worked.  
“What did you say?” The stormtrooper said, armored boots stepping nearer to her. Rey let out a breath of disappointment but resolved to try again. The stormtrooper stepped to her side, letting her see him.  
“You will release these restraints and leave this cell with the door open.” Rey said, fear and frustration underlying her order.  
“I’ll tighten those restraints, scavenger scum.” The stormtrooper replied. He was about to step away when Rey took all of her frustration, her anger at being attacked by the masked man, her fear at being restrained, and she bent those feelings inward and she suddenly felt something bend within her.  
“You will release these restraints and leave this cell with the door open.” Rey ordered, utterly confident now. She watched the stormtrooper straighten.  
“I will release these restraints and leave this cell with the door open.” He said, almost casually, as he pressed a button and unlatched the restraints, freeing Rey. The Stormtrooper walked away, pressing the door control to open the cell. Rey thought quickly before the feeling within her faded.  
“And you’ll drop your weapon!” She ordered, half afraid he wouldn’t do it.  
“Aaaand I’ll drop my weapon.” The stormtrooper said, dropping his blaster to the ground. As soon as Rey heard it hit the ground, she leapt forward and raced to pick up the blaster and escape out of the cell, the casually retreating Stormtrooper a sure sign of what she had done. Rey smiled briefly and ran in the opposite direction, looking for a place to hide. 

-

When FN-2003 was assigned to sanitation duty with FN-2187, they figured, great, they’ll clean some toilets, scrub some floors, then it’ll be back to training. Only, their sanitation stint lasted for more than two months. On a massive ice planet. In the unknown regions. That was finishing up construction with some sort of massive laser canon. When FN-2187 got assigned to cleaning the various entrances to Precinct 47, FN-2003 was assigned to clearing the outside of those entrances. It was during one of those assignments that they saw something glowing faintly red in the snow to the side of the steps. FN-2003 dug down in the snow and their gloved hand came back up with a strange pyramidal shaped object with three sides. It glowed red and was banded in some sort of black metal. FN-2003 shrugged and placed it in his pocket for the rest of his shift, though it kept poking him uncomfortably. Once FN-2003 and FN-2187’s shift finished, they made their way back to the trainee quarters. Knowing that they had no place for personal objects, FN-2003 told FN-2187 to go on without him for a moment. They then stepped into an alcove that they had somewhat recently cleaned and placed the pyramid object into as near a corner as they could to the rear of the alcove, mostly hidden by a swiveling control panel. FN-2003 figured they’d come back to collect it when they got word of their return to training off planet. When FN-2003 and FN-2187 returned to their quarters, they were informed by Captain Phasma that they would be leaving off world immediately to conclude their training and that would soon be followed by their first combat mission. FN-2003 never got the chance to go back for the object. 

It was in that alcove now that Rey hid from a patrol of four stormtroopers. As they marched past, unaware that an escaped prisoner was within feet of them, Rey noticed a faint red glow from behind a control panel. Peeking out from the alcove, she didn’t see any other Stormtroopers. Figuring she had a few minutes to breathe, Rey stepped back completely, and looked behind the swiveling control panel. She saw a dusty three sided pyramid that was clad in black metal and glowed a deep crimson. Rey had an uncomfortable reminder of the cube that she had given her such violent visions on Takodana. She was about to just ignore it and carry on, but she felt something tickling at the back of her mind. Why would someone just leave something like that here? Before she could think better of it, Rey reached down and picked up the pyramid. It sat in the palm of her hand, almost warm to the touch. Rey braced herself to see more horrific visions but none came to her. Opening her eyes and looking down at the pyramid, she saw now it glowed brighter. It then opened on its own. Rey was transfixed as the object opened to reveal another pyramid half the size of the one Rey had been holding, this one was entirely red with strange runes placed upon it that glowed brightly. Above the inner pyramid, a small holographic figure appeared. They were wearing a black cloak with almost an archaic style to the tight clothing beneath it. Rey looked at the head of the hologram and saw a striking beauty of a woman. She had blonde hair, eerie yellow eyes surrounded by exaggerated black makeup, and dark lips. Then the woman spoke to Rey.  
“I am Darth Zannah, second in the line of Bane. This is my Holocron, the repository of all my knowledge, and that of all Sith that have come before. You will listen to my words and heed them.” Rey stood, entranced by the woman, suddenly not caring if anyone saw her hidden in the alcove. “Peace is a lie.” The woman intoned. “There is only passion. Through passion I gain Strength. Through strength I gain power. Through power I gain victory. Through victory my chains are broken. The Force shall free me." Rey stared at the hologram woman, words resonating with her. “I can see that you have already taken your first steps. I will teach you all I know. You will learn the ways of the Dark Side and you will ensure the Sith carry on into the millenia. Do not fail me, apprentice.”  
Those were the final words spoken as the pyramid closed up once more, leaving Rey in near darkness. She slowly placed the Holocron in her empty pouch as another patrol of stormtroopers passed by, taking no notice of her hiding spot. Rey took another moment, shook her head, and stepped out of the alcove as silently as she could, heading the way the stormtroopers had just come. Those words still rang through her head as she stealthily made her way through the First Order base.  
“Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion I gain strength.” Rey thought to herself.

-

Kylo Ren arrived at an opened cell door, no guard, and no scavenger prisoner. Immediately furious, he ignited his lightsaber and cleaved the restraining rig in two. He would have continued if not for the words he had spoken earlier. Kylo breathed heavily and repeated the first line to himself.  
“There is no emotion, there is peace.” He said quietly. He was still furious, but felt far less likely to take out his anger on a helpless restraining rig. Stepping out of the cell, he turned immediately to two Stormtroopers that appeared ready to walk away. They saluted smartly to him. “The prisoner is loose. I want every patrol looking for her.” Kylo ordered, walking away to search for her himself. The two nodded and radioed the rest of the patrols. The girl would not keep him from Skywalker. 

-

When Admiral Statura approached Rose Tico, Rose had expected to get a dressing down and a demotion for snagging an extra ration to feed the squirrels that were common around the Resistance base on D’qar. Instead, Rose was led to a makeshift holding cell, where a tall blonde woman with short curly hair was tied to a chair. She appeared to be only a few years older than Rose.  
“Tico, your sister recommended you for this duty. She said you were more than ready for a promotion, so consider this your promotion for the time being. This is First Order Captain Phasma.” The Admiral said, nodding at the woman tied to the chair. “She was captured at the battle of Takodana. You will be guarding her. If she tries anything, stun her but do not kill her.” Rose nodded grimly as she was handed an Electro-Shock Prod. The Admiral nodded back at her and walked hurriedly away, shutting the metal door behind him. Rose turned to Phasma, arms ready at any time to bring the prod to bear. Phasma just rolled her eyes.  
“Please, if I wanted to escape, I would have done it before they tied me to this chair.” Phasma stated dismissively. Rose just narrowed her eyes, finger twitching above the button to activate the prod.  
“Then why didn’t you?” Rose asked, venom in her voice.  
“Because if I did escape, I would have been on my own, with two unconcious guards and maybe two blasters, in the middle of the Resistance base where everyone would be out for my blood. There would be no chance of me being able to escape up through here and out to a ship before I was either apprehended once again or shot.” Phasma reasoned out, speaking to Rose as though she were dumb.  
“Yeah, no, you’re right about that.” Rose spat back.  
“Great.” Phasma said casually. “Now that you recognise I’m not going to be getting out of here, statistically speaking…” Rose watched with surprise as the ropes fell away from Phasma, leaving her arms free. She immediately switched on the shock prod and pointed it threateningly at Phasma. “Whoa, relax there, sparky.” Phasma said, raising her hands up to placate Rose. “I was just getting more comfortable. You’ve got to get your idiot guards trained on how to actually tie rope.” Rose didn’t lower the prod at all. Phasma nodded in approval. “Good instincts. If you’d actually relaxed, I’d think you were just as incompetent as those muscle-heads you employ here.” Phasma crossed her arms and sat quietly, staring at Rose. Rose stood on guard, ready for anything the prisoner might do. “So what’s your story, sparky?” Phasma asked casually after several minutes of looking around and saying nothing, the boredom getting to her.  
“Excuse me?” Rose said.  
“I said,” Phasma repeated louder and sarcastically. “What’s your story, sparky?”  
“My name is not ‘sparky’.” Rose snapped.  
“Then what is your name?” Phasma asked in the same tone.  
“Rose.” She said, after spending a moment weighing the risks of the prisoner just knowing her name.  
“Hi Rose, I’m Phasma.” Phasma said in an amicable but also sarcastic tone. “So what’s your story, Rose?” She emphasised her guard’s name.  
“The First Order enslaved my people to mine materials and once the planet was stripped clean, they tested their weapons on the planet and killed everyone on it, including my family.” Rose said frankly. Phasma wasn’t surprised. She just nodded.  
“Standard procedure for Outer Rim worlds where the Republic can’t reach. I’d say I’m sorry, but we both know that would just be a useless gesture.” Phasma said neutrally. Rose narrowed her eyes in anger. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, Rose, my family is dead too. Though it wasn’t the First Order. I lived on an Outer Rim world like you. More war, less mines. Resources thin. Family all dead by violence. But I lived. I survived. And I’m going to keep surviving. I don’t care if it’s with the First Order or with a good escape plan and hiding in a Core World. I’ll survive, just like you, Rose.” Rose walked up to within arms reach of Phasma. She then electrocuted Phasma, knocking her silly for a moment.  
“That was for Hay’s Minor.” She said, raising the prod again and shocking Phasma. “And that was for my family.” Rose then deactivated the prod as Phasma’s head lolled, momentarily senseless. She grabbed Phasma’s arms and tied her, securely this time, to the chair. When Phasma regained her senses and looked back up at her guard, Rose stood imperiously above her, arms crossed, shock prod deactivated. “We might both be survivors, but you’re nothing like me.” Rose said.  
“You’re right.” Phasma spat back. “If our positions were reversed, I would have just killed you.”  
“Lucky for you I’m not an evil bitch.” Rose replied before stepping back, leaning against the wall of the makeshift prison cell. Phasma rolled her eyes as they lapsed into silence.  
Rose thought that hurting someone that was so high up in the First Order would make her feel better. She thought it would bring peace to the pain that was always aching around her heart. But it just made her feel dirty. Cruel. She resolved then to not hurt anyone that she didn't have to. In the war against the First Order, she would have to fight, even kill. But that wouldn't stop her from treating people with the basic dignity they deserve. After a few minutes of ignoring Phasma, Rose looked back to her, and their eyes met. Phasma slowly nodded, in that small movement she acknowledged Rose as not lesser than herself. They were two people that were on opposite sides, almost as opposite as possible, and this war had brought them together, a meeting of similar convictions in opposite circumstances. Rose slowly nodded back, acknowledgement unspoken but clearly heard. 

-

"There would have to be some sort of thermal oscillator to keep the energy of a star contained." Admiral Satura spoke to his surrounding colleagues that made up the inner circle of the resistance. General Leia Organa, Han Solo, Admiral Ackbar, Admiral Holdo, commander of the X-Wing divisions Poe Dameron, and newest advisor, Finn, as well as a host of other essential personnel.  
"There is, here." Finn said, pointing to a dark hexagon on the hologram of Starkiller Base. "Precinct 47."  
"They have planet-wide shields that our ships cannot penetrate." Admiral Ackbar said cautiously.  
"Then we get in there and shut it down. Kid, what you got?" Han said, looking at Finn. Finn considered for a moment and then nodded.  
"I can shut them down. But I need to be ON the planet's surface." Han pointed at him.  
“I like this guy. We'll get you there." Han said, Chewie growling in agreement.  
"How're you going to get through their shields?" Leia asked. Han had the good sense to look chagrined.  
"If I told you, you wouldn't like it." He replied. Leia looked away, nodding, but resisted putting her hand on her face in exasperation.  
"Alright," Poe said. "Let's get those shields down and blow up that oscillator." Everyone nodded and split off to do their separate jobs. Han stayed behind to speak a few words to Leia. Finn approached Admiral Stanture.  
"Excuse me, Admiral, could you tell me where you're keeping Phasma?" The Admiral considered Finn for a moment and nodded.  
"Don't take too long. You have to leave soon." He said, waving over a tech operator to show Finn where they were keeping Phasma. Finn nodded.  
"Thanks." He said, following the operator. 

Finn walked into the holding cell. Rose turned around and was momentarily star struck. The story about the First Order stormtrooper that had defected, saved the Ace Pilot of the Resistance, and delivered the droid that had the map to Luke Skywalker had spread through the base like wildfire. And now that brave hero was standing in front of her!  
"I need to talk to Phasma." Finn said. Rose was silent a beat, trying to get the words out.  
"Sure. Don't know if she'll say much. But go for it." Rose stood to the side, allowing Finn an unobstructed view of Phasma tied to the chair. Phasma looked up at Finn in disgust, the contempt clear on her face.  
"I need the codes to shut down the shields around Starkiller Base." Finn stated without preamble.  
"Go fuck yourself." Phasma replied, also without preamble.  
"Okay, let's try something different. You give me the codes, and I'll ask that they not execute you for war crimes after they torture all of the information about the First Order out of you." Finn countered. Rose was horrified. Torture? The resistance didn't torture people. That flew in the face of everything she had just decided for herself. Hell, even having a prisoner was unusual. Phasma clearly knew what she was about, however.  
"I know the resistance doesn't torture people, FN-2187." Finn looked rankled at Phasma using his old designation. "Why should I bother turning traitor to the First Order like you? Do you think they'll welcome me with open arms? It's one thing for you, a lowly fresh out of training stormtrooper, but me? I'm the Captain that oversees the training and command posts of all the stormtroopers. I will be killed, no matter what you might ask of them." She said with certainty. Finn was close to agreeing with her. But Rose took this moment to step in.  
"Phasma, if you tell him the codes, I will personally guarantee that you will not be killed by the Resistance." Phasma considered Rose for a long moment, as though searching for any sort of falsehood. She found none. Rose's confidence in her claim was absolute.  
"Very well." Phasma said. She then explained what Finn would need to do and what the codes were for. Finn felt as though he were back in a debriefing for a live combat exercise. Rose felt like she had been able to do some good. Phasma had just sold out the entire First Order base just so she could survive. Everyone in that room felt good about their choices. 

Snow swirled about Finn, Han, and Chewie as they stealthily made their way to an entrance in Precinct 47. Their lightspeed approach and subsequent crash landing had frazzled everyone's nerves and Han attempted to make some small talk to calm everyone down, at least a little.  
"So what did you do while you were here?" Han asked, expecting Finn to say something normal, like mechanic, or gunnery, or even just guard duty.  
"Sanitation." Finn replied looking around a corner. He suddenly felt himself dragged back by Han.  
"Sanitation?!" Han whispered loudly. "We've got people counting on us to get those shields down, and you worked here on sanitation!?" Finn wasn't surprised at all by Han's outburst.  
"I'm just here to find Rey." He said. When Han looked about ready to rip him a new one, Finn held up a finger. "I also managed to get the shield codes from Phasma." Han looked mildly impressed, until another frown stole over his face.  
"What if she lied and gave you the wrong codes? There could be failsafe alarms. Then this whole thing'll go up in smoke. And not in a good way." Han said grimly. Finn smirked at this.  
"That's just the thing. There are none. Phasma said that local computer security is weak because they thought that no one would ever be able to get on the planet that had something against the First Order." Finn said confidently.  
"She could still be lying." Han said. This stumped Finn for a moment until:  
"We'll use the Force!"  
"That's not how the Force works!" Han exclaimed exasperatedly.

The terminal screen showed in exaggerated letters: SHIELDS DEACTIVATED.  
"Told ya, Solo."  
"Yeah, yeah, let's go find Rey."

Rey rounded a corner when she heard the sound of blaster fire coming from above. Not just any blaster fire. Those sounded like X-Wings and TIE Fighters! She paused, and continued racing through corridors, desperately looking for the exit to the monochrome maze. A door slid open in front of her, and this time there was nowhere to hide. Rey raised her blaster ready to shoot whoever came through that door.  
"Rey!" Finn exclaimed when the door slid all the way open and he saw his second friend in the whole Galaxy. Rey lowered her blaster in relief.  
"Finn!" She said when they embraced in a hug, just bathing in how happy they were to be reunited with one another.  
"Are you all right?" Han asked when the two stopped hugging.  
"Yeah." Rey said simply, still elated to see her friends.  
"Good." Han said, relieved.  
"What happened? Did he hurt you?" Finn asked worriedly.  
"What are you doing here?" Rey asked at the same time. Finn paused for a moment like the answer was obvious.  
"We came back for you." He said, smiling. Rey was speechless. She had been waiting her whole life for someone to come back for her. And now they had. Sure, it wasn't who she expected, but it was someone that made her so very happy. Chewie growled quietly and Rey nearly teared up. Finn looked back at Chewie.  
"What'd he say?" He asked. Rey shrugged and smiled.  
"That it was your idea. Thank you." She said and hugged Finn once more. Finn smiled awkwardly.  
"How did you get away?"  
"I can't explain it. And you wouldn't believe it."  
Finn tipped his head as if to say 'fair enough.'  
"Escape now. Hug later." Han said. The quartet made their way quickly back through the entrance Finn had found previously. They passed a few blaster marked bodies of Stormtroopers as they went. The cold air shocked Rey, who had never had to deal with temperatures like that before. Finn, noticing her discomfort gave her his jacket. She thanked him and they continued a quick trudge to where the Millennium Falcon was 'parked'.  
Han noticed first.  
"Chewie, that oscillator doesn't look very blown up." He said. Chewie grunted in agreement. "We do have two bags full of explosives. What d'you say we use them?" Han said with a rakish grin that promised trouble. Chewie looked at his friend. He had known Han since Han got tossed into the pit that Chewie had been chained to like that Rancor on Tatooine. Han only grinned at him that way when he knew a plan would work. Chewie howled quietly, laughing, and started walking to the oscillator. Han turned back to Finn and Rey. "Alright you two, we're going to blow up this place. Take the ladder there," He pointed. "And cover me and Chewie from above. We'll place the charges and get out of here as quick as we can. Rey and Finn nodded, heading up the ladder as Han followed Chewie. 

Kylo Ren had the directive from Supreme Leader Snoke. He was to kill his father in order to commit completely to the Dark Side of the force. Kylo felt the presence of Han Solo as soon as he set his foot down on that first crunch of snow. Kylo Ren knew that if he found Solo, he would find the scavenger. Kylo followed the call of the Force to the Thermal Oscillator Facility.  
"Spread out and find them." He intoned to the division of stormtroopers behind him. They spread out amongst the support struts, searching for Solo and the scavenger. Kylo himself walked about halfway across the Oscillator bridge when he heard a voice he'd not heard in years. It was rougher than he remembered.  
"BEN." Han yelled, voice echoing as he walked slowly out onto the bridge. Kylo held up his hand for the stormtroopers to hold their fire. He turned around to face his father for the first time in years.  
"Han Solo. I've been waiting for this day for a long time." Kylo said in his modulated voice. Finn and Rey finally reached the top of the service ladder when they opened the doorway and saw Han talking to Kylo Ren. The dying light of the eaten star providing a last bit of natural light.  
"Take off that mask." They heard Han say from the platform. "You don't need it."  
"What do you think you'll see if I do?" The electronically muffled voice echoes through the cavernous Oscillator.  
"The face of my son." Han replied with certainty. Rey and Finn watch with morbid fascination. What is the person under the mask? Are they man? Monster? Kylo reached up and lifted the helmet from his head, hisses and clicks of the mechanisms of it echoing. Han was both shocked and joyed. He finally saw the face of his son as a man. Han saw his eyes, Leia's mouth, his height. Han wasn't really sure where the nose is from, but it's his son's, and it's just right. Rey was dumbfounded. She had been afraid of some tall guy with long black hair?  
"Your son is gone. He was weak and foolish, like his father. So I destroyed him." Kylo's deep voice resonated.  
"That's what Snoke wants you to believe. But it's not true. My son is alive." Han replied.  
"No!" Kylo refused. "The Supreme Leader is wise."  
"Snoke is using you for your power. When he gets what he wants, he'll crush you. You know it's true." Han argued. Kylo was about to speak again, but hesitated. Kylo knew it was the truth. Still he shook his head, hair swaying gently.  
"It's too late."  
"No it's not. Leave here with me. Come home. I miss you. Your mother misses you. And Chewie does too." Han urged, smiling when he mentored Chewbacca. Han couldn't tell for sure with the flickering light, but he could have sworn his son did also. But Han did not imagine the tears that came to his son's eyes.  
"I'm being torn apart. I want to be free of this pain." Kylo said. Han stepped closer, but hesitated, wanting to give his son the space he needed. "I know what I have to do but I don't know if I have the strength to do it. Will you help me?" Kylo begged.  
"Yes. Anything." Han replied, completing the step closer. Kylo unclipped his lightsaber and held it in his hands, about a foot away from Han's chest. Han almost couldn't believe it. The two of them feel frozen in the moment. Then the final ray of sunlight whisps away into the planet's core and the dark red lights of the Oscillator stole over Kylo's face. The words of Qui-gon come unbidden to Kylo's mind.  
"There is no passion. There is serenity. There is no death, there is the force." He whispered to himself. Han heard him but no one else did. Ben Solo relinquished Kylo Ren's lightsaber to his father. Han smiled kindly at his son that he'd thought he'd lost for so long, back with them once again. A blaster shot rang out. Chewie roared. But Ben Solo felt it through the Force. He could see the blaster bolt heading towards his father. He raised his arm to stop it, but he wouldn't be fast enough. Finn yelled "No!" And for a moment, everything stopped. Including the bolt of energy. Ben knew he wasn't doing anything. He looked around for the source. Looking up, he saw the scavenger and the traitor. The scavenger had her arm outstretched, straining with the effort of keeping the bolt in place. Han turned around to see the floating bolt of energy pointed straight at him. He carefully moved to the side, as did Ben. Father and son looked at each other, nodded, and as though they had practiced for years, Han tossed Ben the lightsaber and whipped out his blaster at the same time as Rey let go of the bolt. When it impacted the walkway, it was as though a signal sounded for everything to go. The division of Stormtroopers opened fire on Han and Ben, though it didn't do them much good as Ben deflected the bolts meant for them with deft flourishes while Han picked off individual troopers with his blaster. Chewie roared and Han answered back:  
"Blow it, Chewie!"  
Chewbacca pressed the detonator in his hand and suddenly the Oscillator was rent with explosions. Finn and Rey immediately started their way back down the ladder. They made it down to the entrance quicker than Chewie, Han, and Ben and they kept running until there was a final *BOOM* that sent everyone flying with the shockwave. Silence reigned for a moment until Ben stirred and sat up from where he'd been blown into the snow.  
"Ow."  
Everyone looked incredulously at Ben and then Han let out a bark of a laugh where he was lying next to Ben in the snow. He groaned as he pushed up.  
"I'm getting too old for this. Come on Chewie, where did we park the Falcon?" Han asked. The five companions raced off into the forest, the sounds of X-Wings screaming to the oscillator sounded like music to their ears. 

"Black Leader, there's a brand new hole in that oscillator! It looks like our friends got in!"  
Poe looked out the window of his X-Wing and saw what Ziff just said was true. There was definitely extensive damage to the device.  
"Red Four! Red Six! Cover us!" Poe shouted over the radio. The answers came as quickly as Poe's dive to the planet's surface. The next few moments was a blur of TIE Fighters and dangerous maneuvers. Poe ordered the others of the Black Squadron to pull out as he zipped into the massive hole in the Oscillator, banking sharply and firing at the inside of the Oscillator Facility. Poe managed to exit at speed as it exploded behind him, everyone giving a huge cheer over their radios. "Let's get going home everyone!" Poe announced, even as he circled, waiting for the Millennium Falcon. He waited a tense few minutes before he saw the iconic ship rocket away from the rapidly destabilizing planet. He gave a whoop of joy and whirled his X-Wing, heading: D’Qar.

The trip back to D’Qar was tense on the Millenium Falcon. Finn sat next to Rey around the holochess board. Ben sat on the edge of one of the bunk sleepers, looking intensely at the floor, fingers crossed under his chin. Rey was staring intensely at Ben, her fingers clenching the holochess board. Finn was looking at Rey, somewhat concerned about the angry look on her face. Finn was also sending the occasional glare at Ben, but Finn also felt uncertain about his feelings about Kylo- Ben Solo. On the one hand, this was the man who ordered an entire village to be murdered. On the other hand, Finn could understand a sudden change of heart better than most. Finn came to the tentative conclusion that as long as Ben did his best to make amends, he might be okay with the guy. But Finn also resolved to shoot the bastard in the head if he thought that Ben would be a danger to his friends or those around him. Finn looked back to Rey as she stood up. Ben also looked up at Rey’s sudden movement. Rey stalked over and stood in front of Ben. A tense moment passed. Then Rey slugged Ben with a solid punch to the face. His head whipped to the side with the force of it and Finn let out a quiet ‘Oh damn.’ Rey pointed at Ben’s face, cheek rapidly reddening.  
“If you ever go into my head again, I will kill you.” Rey seethed. Ben nodded slightly.  
“I deserved that.” He said quietly, his voice having none of the menace that it had when he wore the mask of Kylo Ren.  
“Damn right you did. You deserve more, but I’ll let the Resistance decide what that is.” Rey said, turning her back on him and walking back to the table, sitting next to Finn with a huff. Finn was looking at Rey with wide eyes, not having her seen her that angry since she chased after him on Jakku. Finn looked back to Ben who was also looking at Rey with a contemplative look. Ben stood up, pulling his lightsaber off his belt. Finn immediately leapt over the table, pulling the lightsaber that he had out, ready to ignite it at a moment’s notice. Ben stopped short and held his hands above his head, his lightsaber pointing to the ceiling.  
“I’m placing the lightsaber on the table.” Ben said carefully. Moving slowly, making certain to point the emitter away from anyone, he placed it gently on the holochess board. He then backed away slowly and sat back down where he was previously, giving Finn’s lightsaber a strange look of longing as he did so. Finn didn’t let down his guard until Ben had sat back down. Finn then looked at Rey who looked just as surprised as Finn felt. “I figured you’d be more comfortable if I didn’t have a weapon on me. I know it won’t make up for anything, but you’ll at least rest assured that I won’t come after you with that.” Ben said, mild distaste in his voice as he looked pointedly at the black hilt on the table. “Not that I’m going to attack you.” He added as an afterthought. Finn sat back down, putting his lightsaber away. Rey looked down at the lightsaber on the table in front of her. After a moment, she looked at Finn, who nodded, agreeing with whatever she was thinking. Rey then took the lightsaber and clipped it to her belt.  
“Hey we’ll at D’Qar in a few minutes…” Han trailed off as he took in the tense atmosphere in the lounge of the Falcon and the red mark on his son’s face. He coughed lightly. “No lightsaber duels in the Falcon.” He gave a last look to Ben, drinking in his son’s face before he headed back into the cockpit. They could hear Chewie holler at Han and his fading reply of “No, they’re good, I think Rey slapped the shit out of Ben though.”  
Finn and Rey took one look at each other and burst out laughing. Even Ben gave a crooked awkward smile. It felt sincere to him though.  
“There is no chaos, there is serenity.” Ben thought to himself as he smiled for the first time in years.  
“Through victory, my chains are broken.” Rey thought to herself, still chuckling, as she let go of the urge to go back Jakku for the last time.  
“It feels good to laugh.” Finn thought to himself.


End file.
